Cold weather seems to put a lot of stress on fingers and thumbs. For some reason, splits and cracks in the skin near the fingernail seem to be far more common at this time of year. What can you do to ease the pain of your cracked fingertips?
Helping Your Cracked Fingertips Heal:
Q. The other day I had a big split at the tip of my thumb. I was visiting a friend, and we went to the drug store. I happened to see a box of something called finger cots. They are basically disposable gloves for individual fingers.
She had a healing ointment, so I put that on with a finger cot and happily finished my Christmas shopping. A few hours later the cracked fingertip was almost healed. I repeated the process the next day, and the split was gone.
Other Approaches to Healing Your Cracked Fingertips:
A. Thanks for the tip. A nurse once told us that frequent hand washing in the hospital led to painful cracks on her thumbs and fingertips. She paints the cracks with two or three layers of clear nail polish to seal and protect them while they heal.
Other readers recommend instant glue or some type of liquid bandage. One woman was allergic to latex and could not wear finger cots or rubber gloves. She said that the glue “stops the pain, protects the cracks from germs and heals them, usually within three days.”
Using a moisturizer at this time of year is also helpful. We recommend one with 20 percent urea, such as Udderly Smooth Extra Care 20 Cream, to speed healing.
